sour candy

Time was passing quite fast within the walls of the Saora School. Nicodemus had dove into the education, drinking in every piece of information from his classes as he could, and tried to implement it all as well. In a morbid sense, he was glad he found the older man missing an eye a few weeks ago - that gave him more practice, and helped him understand practical applications of his medical knowledge much quicker. With his first taste of patient blood on his paws... in the helping sense, the young boy had gained a considerable amount of confidence in himself. Today, he travelled. Having asked for the day away from classes, he determined he wanted to explore a little further outside of Inverness in hopes of finding new plantlife in an effort to discover more herbs, or simply find ones that would aid him in his studies. He was granted his request - probably due to his impeccable attendance, he assumed - and off he went on a journey to the West. The Fae Forest. He'd only heard rumours in his life, as his mother never let him or his siblings venture too close. She was immensely superstitious, quoting an encounter with a banshee when her and their father first met, but Nicodemus had a difficult time accepting the appearance of Fae. Regardless, he was still on edge, because... what if? And so he remained on the outskirts of the forest, close enough that he could definitely tell which way was out, but inward enough to start plucking at little seedlings, leaves, flowers and twigs to stuff into his herb pouch to study for later. Dark ears tilted like little radars atop his skull, trying to remain attentive to his surroundings despite being so enamoured with all the new little plants he could take back to his dorm.

STOCK➤ Kati H - Dawnthieves ART ➤AMPHI

Shame filled the heart and mind of Nightshade, and she knew she deserved to feel so terrible about the things she had failed. She was angry with her "siblings", found a deep-seated hatred for Anwyn, the boy born of one who had since passed. That did not make him special. Blood did not matter. So why was he so loved and praised? Luckily, he too messed up in ritual and Nightshade had to stop herself from laughing in his stupid boy face. Larkspur was no better than Anwyn - her and her little boyfriend in the woods. The black face of a traitor had stared at her, and called her crazy. She proudly told all of this to Mother, but somehow - it did not mend the mistakes that she had made. She should be praised, loved, and showered over for trying to kill the boy. Maybe they just saw it as yet another one of Nightshade's failures? Not again. Never again would she allow herself to fail. Nightshade was out and about on her own, seeking the best in flowers and herbs to try and mix the perfect poisons. It was not an easy task, and she was really struggling to recall the different structures of the leaves. "Leaves of three, let it be..." she said softly to herself. Poison oak could be a useful thing, but it was messy and even caused her skin to react in ways she did not enjoy.

She had been perusing through some bushes, her golden eyes trained on the foliage around her, when a scent caught her attention. Immediately, she knew it was a male. How old - she did not care. Dropping down to the ground, she stalked her prey like a murderous predator, waiting for the next opportunity to strike. Her ears pinned to her head, her heart was racing and she could hear it ringing in her ears. Her tail stayed out straight from her form, not even moving an inch. Her paws gently pushed on the ground like a feline. Everything in her told her she needed to be fierce, powerful, and to not let this one get away. Blood would be spilled on this day!

Without warning, Nightshade pushed off of her hind legs and pounced out towards the male that was playing in the flowers. Her jaws were open, ready to strike and her paws were spread apart to hopefully pin him to the ground from the effects of the surprise attack. She was furious, she only wished she could be foaming from the mouth to even more scare her target.

Rolling combat 1d20: 5
Poor - You barely hurt your opponent

"The day is darkest before the dawn.."
@Nicodemus

Rolling combat 1d20: 11 Fair - You hurt your opponent moderately He was completely oblivious to his surroundings, having grown up in a safe home and then in a secure campus. It was a mistake, and a hard lesson that he would learn today. With a face full of flowers, he paid no mind to anyone or anything around him, figuring that there was no way something would get him in broad daylight. It was only when he heard the crunch of twigs from a body lunging through the air that he lifted his head, and was immediately hit in the side. Someone collided with him, but surprisingly it didn't hurt very much. Reeling from the physical altercation, Nico stumbled back from the other, staring at her in disbelief for a few seconds before instinct somehow took over. However, the boy had never fought before, never mind actually knowing how, so he lamely threw a paw out to slap at the girls face in an effort to subdue her. He even had his eyes closed.

STOCK➤ Kati H - Dawnthieves ART ➤AMPHI

Colliding with the boy was not what she had planned to do. She wanted to grab him, pin him, and kill him. It would take time for that she supposed. He was a little more cunning than she would have guessed. And as she fell to the ground, she was quickly to pounce back on her paws. Golden orbs stared at him as though he had done a horrible injustice to her family, burned down the family tree and pissed on the ashes. He was a nobody. As his paw struck her face, she let out a blood-curdling scream. "Perish to you boy! You think you can take what you want from our lands just because of what hangs between your legs!" She growled aggressively, saliva dripping from her maw as her teeth were bared. He was to die on this day.

Leaping at him once more, her jaws opened to try and grab him by the shoulder. If she was successful, she would try to force him to the ground. Then she could do whatever she wanted to him. He would have no choice but to just stop breathing. Then she would have to figure out a way to drag his dead body back to Mother, so she could be praised in the way she had always wanted.

Rolling combat 1d20: 8
Poor - You barely hurt your opponent

"The day is darkest before the dawn.."
@Nicodemus

Rolling combat 1d20: 1 Critical Failure - You injured yourself HP: 42 Panic began to set in as he realized that this random chick was actually trying to fight him for what seemed to be no reason. His heart kicked up its pace as adrenaline began to flood his body, and it pumped even harder after her shrill threats. "Perish to you boy! You think you can take what you want from our lands just because of what hangs between your legs!" Confusion overwhelmed him, not understanding this sudden attack or what the heck she was even on about. Take her lands? He just got here! All he wanted was some flowers! Aggression rolled off of her and he shivered with the mounting energy and emotions that coursed through him. What was he supposed to do?! He didn't want to hurt anyone! She came after him again, a tiny viper that was absolutely relentless. Jaws clamped on his shoulder, teeth sinking in to his flesh and he jerked back as she tried to get a better grab on him. "Stop it!" he yelled, ears pinning against his skull as he reared back on his hind legs and pushed at her with both front paws. "Get away from me, you freak!" his blue eyes were wildly wide with bewilderment at this deranged young girl.

STOCK➤ Kati H - Dawnthieves ART ➤AMPHI

The forces of the forest, the powers of the fae, were all siding with Nightshade and she could feel it. The boy was scared, she could tell and he had the most crazed-looking blue eyes. She wished to pluck them right from their sockets. She stood from him, an evil grin upon her features as she lifted her muzzle up, her eyes rolled to the back of her head - something she had been practicing daily since her interaction with the black-faced devil boy - and she raised her voice to a loud shout.

"Goddess of protection hear my plea
Keep this mongrel away from me!
When they are near, they will feel pure pain
The closer they are, the stronger the pain

Goddess of protection hear my plea
Keep this mongrel away from me!
Keep this mongrel away from me!
Keep this mongrel away from me!
So mote it be!"

Her voice grew louder and louder, the fog rolling around the forest (as usual) grew thick around them. As she slowly lowered her head, only the whites of her eyes could be seen as she growled at the boy. From above, a small black creature swooped down from a tree above, his screech was very loud in a shrieking high pitch. As the bat swooped on the boy to try and scare him, Nightshade rushed him yet again, jaws fixating on his shoulder.

Rolling combat 1d20: 1
Critical Failure - You injured yourself

HP: 44
"The day is darkest before the dawn.."
@Nicodemus

Rolling combat 1d20: 18 Competent - You deal a painful blow HP: 39 He had tried to shove her away, but he only managed to mis judge the distance between them and fall flat on his face. The black devil had advantage, and she took hold of it by advancing on him with white, sightless eyes. Chants emitting from her maw, she tried to attack him again as a bird came in and swooped at him. He anticipated the pain of another attack, but nothing came. She must have made a miscalculation as he opened up his tightly squeezed shut eyes. It was overwhelming, and he yelped as he tried to roll away from her while kicking his back legs at her face, or legs, or anything that was closest to him. He was too scared to utter any words now.

STOCK➤ Kati H - Dawnthieves ART ➤AMPHI

Her ability to act upon the situation was flawed. Whether she was worried about harming Creature, or she had moved too quickly - she was not sure where it had all gone wrong. She tripped over herself, stepped on her own paw, and was nearing the floor in a faceplant style, only to be kicked with both of his legs to move her away from him. His paws attacked perfectly on her chest, knocking her backwards and to land on her back. She hit the floor with a thud as the earth caught her. All the while internally she was screaming. Why had it not worked in her favor? Was there something she was missing? She felt more shame now than she had ever felt before. Picking herself back up off the ground, she shook out her onyx coat. Her golden eyes stared at him, her breathing grew deeper and deeper, her chest heaving and falling with each breath. "I shall kill you!" She lunged for the third time, this time going for the throat. She was not going to give up.

Rolling combat 1d20: 8
Poor - You barely hurt your opponent

HP: 26
"The day is darkest before the dawn.."
@Nicodemus

Rolling combat 1d20: 7 Poor - You barely hurt your opponent HP: 31 She was unrelenting, determined to spill his blood and each time she failed to do so, it seemed to only frustrate her more and more. It was terrifying, this sudden appearance of a woman who desperately wanted to take his life. What did he do to earn this? Was she even real? He looked down for a moment, studying the peppered scrapes and wounds she had inflicted on him so far. One tongue swipe and taste of the coppery liquid gold him enough - this was real, she was real, and he needed to make sure he survived. She dove for him again, breaths coming hard as she refused to give up. He was completely unprepared for battle, and he lacked the strength to maintain endurance for a long period. He felt teeth scrape his throat, and he thanked his genes for the thick furs he inherited from his father before he twisted around, paws shoving at her face again to get her away from him.

STOCK➤ Kati H - Dawnthieves ART ➤AMPHI

Though the boy was not actively attacking her back, he was thwarting all opportunities she had. She had called for Creature again, watching as the bat flew towards the boy's face as a distraction. Maybe this time she would be able to get some sort of semblance of a victory! If she could mar him just enough, grab a portion of his flesh and fur to show the truth to Mother - well, maybe this day could be turned around. She felt terrible from the lack of success she was suffering from. This only made her more mad, more determined. With Creature swooping in again, she went for a leg this time, hoping to pull it out from underneath him. Please work! She thought to herself.

Rolling combat 1d20: 17
Competent - You deal a painful blow

HP: 19 (If he deals a lot of damage, she is going to flee next post)
"The day is darkest before the dawn.."
@Nicodemus